Counting Stars

“Sidney Crosby has really stepped it up in this second series so far. Don’t you think?” The background noise from Sports Center fills Sidney’s house as I clean the dishes from breakfast. When I hear Sidney’s name I turn up the volume.

“Definitely, he has finally scored a goal and all around seems more focused. I don’t know what changed, but thank God something did. The Penguins are dominating the Rangers, leading this series 3-1. They should close this out next game, especially since the series is coming back to Pittsburgh.”

I turn off the T.V. and can’t help but scoff. Of course Sidney is more focused, that will happen when the man stalking your girlfriend is finally caught. It’s been two weeks since that night and I still wake up from nightmares. But I’m focusing on Sidney right now, he needs me. And even though I miss Jacob this is for the best. Really, the last few days have been great for Sidney and I and every night that I fall asleep next to Sidney I feel completely content.

“Babe, I’m home!” Sidney waltzes into the kitchen with a huge smile on his face. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so happy. He kisses me on the cheek, “What have you been up to?”

“I got off the phone with my sister; she wants to know if I can spend Saturday with her in Philly. She needs a lot of help with the wedding. And I have a meeting tomorrow with David and some designers for the Cannes Film Festival.”

Sidney nods, “When is that again?”

I bite my lip, “It starts next week.”

“So that’s during the Conference Finals.”

“Right, but it’s only for a few days. If I didn’t have to be there I wouldn’t go,” Sidney still hasn’t made eye contact with me so I pull his hands in mine. “It’s the premiere of the movie I filmed in Pittsburgh in the fall, so it’s important.”

He pouts dramatically, “So stay one day and then come back home.”

“You know it doesn’t work like that. Besides I’ll be getting real time updates for the games.”

Sidney groans and then presses a hard kiss to my lips, “God, it sucks having a successful girlfriend sometimes.”

I laugh and smack his chest. “How was practice?”

“Fine, just trying to keep pushing and playing our game.”

I roll my eyes. “You know I’m not some reporter. You don’t have to give me the ‘right’ answer.”

“We know we can win and we are going to tomorrow. Rangers don’t stand a fucking chance.” He has a slight smile on his face. “Better?”

“Infinitely,” I stand and wrap my arms around Sidney’s waist, appreciating the bands of muscles still taught from practice. “Anything you want to do today?”

“Well, Duper asked for a little favor last night on the plane.”

Judging from Sidney’s sudden interest in the granite countertops I assume that I might not like whatever Sidney agreed to. “What did he want?”

“He asked if we could watch their kids today and I said yes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s just for a few hours. Apparently, Carol-Lynn has been a little overwhelmed with everything. The two of them wanted some alone time and we have to be back at the hotel tonight anyways.” I don’t say anything simply thinking about the Dupuis’ three children. Don’t get me wrong kids are great, but I’m not terribly good at babysitting. “Babe? Really, if you don’t want to I’m sure they will understand.”

From the look on my boyfriend’s face I can see that he wants to help out his road roommate and like Carol-Lynn said earlier the WAGs need to help each other out. With that in mind I smile, “It’s fine Sid. It will be fun.”

“You’re the best.” Sidney kisses me on the forehead. “They should be over in about an hour or so.”

True to Sidney’s word the Dupuis clan stops by in an hour. I open the door and three children sprint past me into the living room chanting for Uncle Sidney. Pascal shakes his head, “Sorry about that. They rarely get to come over here, so when they do it’s pretty exciting.”

“No problem. Do y’all want to come in?”

“No, we have a movie to get to.”

Sidney appears in the doorway and slides a hand around my waist. “Hey guys, your kids have made themselves at home already, no worries.”

We all share a laugh and Carol-Lynn blushes, “It’s like I raised animals. Thank you two for doing this again. We should be back around seven.” She raises her voice, “Behave for Uncle Sidney and Aunt Brooklyn!”

As Carol-Lynn walks to their car Pascal rubs his neck, “Seriously, Carol-Lynn was going crazy, she needs some free time. I’ll see you guys later. Have fun!”

We close the door and I hear a crash come from somewhere in the house. I peek at Sidney who looks slightly frightened. “Remember, you volunteered for this.” He nods and I drag him towards the living room.

Sidney’s usually immaculate living space has already been torn apart by the three Dupuis. The T.V. is blaring some Disney show while pillows and cushions are strewn about the room. On the couch the two boys, Jean and Pierre, are jumping up and down. Close to the T.V. their little girl, Corinne is playing with Barbie dolls that were once organized in her backpack. All in all it’s a disaster area. The two boys notice Sidney and yell before jumping over the couch onto him. I watch in disbelief as my professional athlete boyfriend is dragged to the ground by two elementary school kids. “A little help here?”

I laugh, “Boys, you know Sidney’s ticklish right?” They momentarily stop and look at me with wide eyes. “Left side, ribs.” Sidney groans and then falls into laughter. I find a spot next to Corinne who is engrossed in her doll. “Can I play with you?”

She merely shrugs and hands me a doll, “Boys are dumb.”

I glance at aforementioned boys. Sidney has weaseled his way out of Jean’s grip and tosses him aside to focus on Pierre. It looks promising until Jean returns with a large pillow. Sidney looks to me for help and I just shake my head and focus on Corinne, “Tell me about it.”

“You’re really pretty.”

Her declaration catches me by surprise and I smile. “You’re prettier.”

She flips some hair behind her shoulder, “I know.”

I can’t help but chuckle at the young girl’s unfiltered response. Corinne catches me up on her doll’s lives for a while and then I hear whispering. Behind me I see that the boys are plotting something and it can’t be good. Then I feel the first pillow hit my chest followed by a few more. Corinne and I scream in surprise. “Not fair!”

I pick up Corinne and we find shelter behind a couch where there are a few more pillows. We throw some at the boys who have set up camp behind another piece of furniture. Corinne is really getting into it, the way that only a girl with two older brothers can. “We don’t have any more pillows!”

Looking around I see that she is right and then I remember all of the pillows up in Sidney’s room. “Can you hold down the fort for a second?” She nods and creeps over to the stairs hoping to make it their undetected. I run up the stairs to Sidney’s room where I’m promptly tackled on the bed. I scream and turn to find my boyfriend, face flushed and smiling above me.

“What are you doing here?”

I shrug, “We need more ammunition.”

We suddenly are both struck with the absurdity of the situation and laugh. “We are having a pillow fight, with children.”

“And?”

“I’m going to win,” Sidney finishes his statement and then hits me upside up the head with a pillow.

“Oh, now you are in trouble,” I pull out the pillow from underneath me and hit Sidney who barely reacts. Instead he captures my wrists and holds them down. Suddenly, the atmosphere changes and the pillow fight vanishes from my mind.

Sidney leans down and presses his lips against mind slowly, “Seems like I have the control though.”

“Ew!”

The exclamation causes Sidney and I to focus on the door to the bedroom where all three kids are standing. Jean is covering Corrine’s eyes who pushes off his hand with a frown. “What are you doing?”

I share a panicked glance with Sidney who just shrugs. I roll my eyes, “Who’s hungry?” The promise of food distracts the kids from our comprising position and Sidney rolls off of me. “I’ll go check the kitchen for food. You go tidy up the living room.”

*******


I’m straightening up the couches and pillows with the kids when I hear Brooklyn yell for me from the kitchen. When I see her she looks frantic, “What’s wrong?”

“We have nothing to feed children.”

“That can’t be true,” I walk over and open the fridge and rummage through it. “Look, we have…”

“Exactly. We have nothing for them. Anything you make will have enough protein to last these kids until puberty.”

I scoff, “Like your food is any better.” I throw some stuff on the counter. “Kale? Coconut water?”

She laughs, “Okay, you made your point. Neither of us can feed these kids.”

“So what do we do?”

“Pizza, preferably with extra cheese.”

“Brooklyn, we can’t. I’m sure Duper and Carol wanted us to make their kids nutritious food.”

My girlfriend huffs and puts her hands on her hips, “Then what do you want us to do?” I open my mouth to answer and then close it. “Pizza it is.”

Thirty minutes later the pizza arrives and I go to answer the door. Our delivery guy looks barely old enough to drive, “It will be thirty-five and- Holy Shit your Sidney Crosby! Can you eat pizza the night before a game?” Before I can answer, Brooklyn comes to the door to grab the pizzas and the delivery kid focuses on her instead, “Wow, big fan Miss Donahue. I mean big fan.”

She smiles not noticing the teen checking her out and I resist the urge to punch him. Once she is gone I hand him a fifty, “Keep the change.”

“Thanks, man.” He lowers his voice. “So, man to man what’s it like dating her?”

I close the door in his face with an eye roll. In the kitchen Brooklyn is dishing out pizza to the kids. She is moving like a whirlwind between cleaning spills and grabbing drinks. I’m stopped at the sight while I lose myself in an alternate world in which this is our family. “What are you smiling about?” Brooklyn’s words pull me from the fantasy.

“Thinking about the pizza.” It’s not true of course, but I need to decide when and if I’m going to share that fleeting thought with my girlfriend. Who knows maybe the thought of marriage and family would chase her away.

“Can we eat in front of the T.V. Aunt Brooklyn?” Pierre asks with a mouth already half full of pizza.

“If it’s alright with Uncle Sidney.” Three big pairs of eyes look at me beseechingly and I nod, unable to deny them. My girlfriend laughs, “They have you wrapped around their tiny fingers.”

“I know, it’s bad. I’ve watched them grow up.”

Brooklyn nudges my hip, “I think it’s sweet.” She hands me a plate. “It probably means you’ll be a good father.”

I freeze at her words and my daydream comes back. I shake my head to dispel it and focus on the pizza. “Maybe.”

The two of us make our way to the living room and find the kids eating peacefully watching the same show from earlier. Brooklyn finds a spot between Pierre and Corinne while I sit with Jean. Every once and a while I catch myself laughing at the nonsense on the screen.

“Can we watch a movie?” Jean asks me and his siblings quickly get on board. I know that I don’t have any kid’s movies so I try to find one on the T.V.

“Oh, Frozen!” Corinne suggests, but her brothers quickly shut it down.

Brooklyn whispers to the dejected girl, “We can watch it another time.”

After some more suggestions we decide on the Lego Movie and I make some popcorn for the group. Within a few minutes everyone is asleep. My doorbell wakes me up and I open my eyes to see the credits rolling. I carefully disentangle myself from Jean and get off the couch. I check to see if Brooklyn is awake and can’t help but smile. Corinne is curled in her lap while Pierre is resting on her shoulder. All three are softly sleeping.

I answer the door, “Hey guys, how was dinner?”

The couple walk through the door and Duper speaks first, “It was good, nice to have some quiet time.”

“It’s awfully quiet, are the kids still alive?” Carol laughs nervously.

“Believe it or not, they’re asleep.” Brooklyn meets us and her eyes are still a little cloudy with sleep. “Hope y’all had a nice night.”

They nod and Duper gently picks up Jean. “I’ll start hauling the kids to the car. Help Sid?” I grab Corrine and follow Duper out to the car. Once the two are in Duper turns to me, “So how did it go tonight?”

“Fine, it started out a little rough, but we got the hang of it.”

“Well, you know this means that Carol will ask you again.” I don’t answer, but the idea doesn’t bother me. “I’ll be damned.”

“What?”

Duper just shrugs as we walk back towards the house, “You’ve been bitten by the bug.”

“The bug?”

“You know, the desire to get married, have kids the whole shebang. Not surprising really, you and Brooklyn have been through a lot of shit for this long of a relationship. And you two played house tonight.”

“I do not want to have kids right now.”

He just holds up his hands in defense, “Talk to me in another few months, okay. Trust me, you are going want to put a ring on that beautiful woman’s finger and then after that the rules change.”

We are back in the foyer and Carol-Lynn and Brooklyn are talking. Pierre stumbles in a few seconds later rubbing his eyes, “Hey sweetie.”

“Hey mom.” Carol picks up the young boy.

“I think we should head home,” Carol brushes some hair out of Pierre’s eyes. “Say thank you to Uncle Sidney and Aunt Brooklyn.”

“Thank you. I had a lot of fun and the pizza was really yummy.”

Duper punches my shoulder, “Pizza?”

I wince, “We forgot to go shopping for good food.”

“You’ll learn Captain.”

They leave and Brooklyn are left to clean up the house. “See tonight wasn’t that bad.”

Brooklyn smiles and washes some glasses, “You were right. It was actually fun. Carol-Lynn asked if we would do it again. I told her we would. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” I try not to sound too eager. “Maybe after the playoffs are over though.”

“Sounds good to me. Now when do you have to go to the hotel?”

I’m in the locker room before the game when Flower comes up to me and pats me on the back. “Heard you and Brooklyn babysat last night. Welcome to the club.”

“The club?”

“The serious relationship club. Once you’re married membership is a given, but sometimes you join before. Not surprising you did.”

I’m confused and a little annoyed with everyone reading so much into last night. “I don’t understand. We watched a few kids together that’s all it takes to be considered in a serious relationship?”

Our goalie nods and focuses on his pads, “Tell me that the thought of a family with Brooklyn didn’t cross your mind last night.” I’m silent and Flower correctly assumes that I did have those thoughts. “Exactly. And I bet you liked the idea of having a family with her didn’t you?”

“Sure, but like I told Duper last night. I don’t want kids right now or soon for that matter.”

Duper walks in at that moment, “I think you’re protesting a little too much there Crosby.”

His loud voice attracts my other teammates in the room. Nealer, naturally latches onto the conversation, “Oh, is Captain protesting fun again?”

The guys all clap and acknowledge James’ burn while I scowl. “Can we just drop it?”

Flower won’t though, “Crosby is finally thinking about starting a family.”

Now everyone is hooked and demanding answers. I’ve never been serious with a girl, much less consider a family with someone. “Seriously, let it go. Let’s kick ass tonight alright?”

*****


I’m sitting in the Family suite again surrounded by the WAGs and feel at ease. It’s the first game of this series that I’ve actually watched at the arena. The atmosphere feels absolutely electric. Vero sits next to me, “Hey hun, how are you doing? No more stalker problems?”

I almost forgot that I haven’t seen any of these guys since all the drama with Ethan. “Nope. Honestly, these past few weeks have been great. Sidney and I have never been better.”

“Yeah, Marc said something about you and Sidney babysitting last night. That sounds pretty serious.”

“I don’t know if serious is the right word,” I pause for a second. “Can I tell you a secret though?”

“Of course.”

“Wait, I want to hear.” Carol-Lynn moves closer and brushes off the girlfriend that she was talking to.

“This doesn’t leave the three of us,” They nod and I continue. “So last night amidst watching the kids I found myself thinking about a future with Sidney, like a future with kids.”

“Oh my god!”

“I knew it!”

My friend’s outbursts attract the attention of the other girls in the suite along with a few spectators around us. “Please keep it a secret. I mean it’s probably nothing, just hormones.”

Vero speaks up, “I know you don’t believe that. You’ve always wanted kids right?” I nod. “Now imagine if Sidney was the father.”

My imagination runs wild. It would be like last night, but every night for the rest of our lives. “It’s tempting sure, but we haven’t even known each other for a year.”

Now Carol interjects, “We aren’t saying you have to get pregnant tomorrow, but just don’t fight this okay. You and Sidney are great together and I know at some point you two are going to make great parents.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything. Please don’t mention anything to Sidney about it okay?”

They nod and we focus on the game.

They lost. And they lost horribly. Truthfully I don’t know if anyone understands what happened tonight. Nothing went their way. I’m waiting for Sidney when he leaves the locker room. Sidney gives me a sad smile, “We will get them next time. Plenty of more games.”

I just nod and pull him into a hug. His shoulders are tense and I wince, “I’ll give you a backrub tonight.”

“That sounds great.” He shrugs off my hand though. “But, we are heading straight back to the hotel and then leaving tomorrow.”

He is just going to surround himself in this and I know it won’t be good. At the same time I know if I push he will just pull harder. So I smile, “Alright, I will be waiting for you at the airport after y’all win.”

“God, I hope so.” We kiss quickly and he pulls away while I stand alone and unsatisfied.

When I get back to Sidney’s empty house I pack a bag for tomorrow and Sunday. I’m going to Philly to help my sister plan her wedding and apparently Claude hasn’t been any help. While I’m packing though I can’t help but feel lonely. I’m struggling with this stuff with Sid. Do I really want to start a family with him? This soon? Hell, I don’t even know if I would be a good mother or even if Sidney wants to. My mind is racing when I fall asleep that night.

Notes

It's been a while so I'm sooo sorry! But here it is i hope y'all enjoy!!